The Ice Phoenix
by ShadowPhoenixNinja
Summary: Natsu and Lucy are close team partners, Erza is in a league of her own, Gajeel has Panther Lily. Everybody in Fairy Tail seems to have their own close partners, all but a certain ice maker mage. There's more to the isolated Gray than his friends really percieve, perhaps a determining encounter will shatter his icy demeanour.
1. Another day in Fairy Tail

I **DO NOT** own Fairy Tail, all rights go to the amazing Hiro Mashima! But I do own all the OC's in this Fan Fiction, Feel free to send me responses, constructive criticisms, opinions (Please be nice to me) etc. Thanks for reading! **^_^**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Third Person POV** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The semi drunk mage slammed yet another drained barrel onto the bar counter. The snow haired woman opposite raised a concerned eyebrow.

'Cana, this is your fourth barrel this morning.'

The swaying brunette chuckled loudly then fell off her stool. Cana then fell onto a certain blue exceed's tail, Happy screeched and flew straight into the back of Elfman who, out of pure reflex, swung his colossal fist round to collide with Natsu's head, whilst roaring.

'A REAL MAN FIGHTS BACK!'

The angered pink haired dragon slayer looked around wildly, punching tables and chairs with fists of scorching fire.

'WHERE ARE YOU FROZEN FEATURES!?'

An immediate response of five razor sharp ice daggers along with a freshly stripped blue shirt shot passed and narrowly missed the rampaging fire mage.

'WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME ASH FACE!?'

The ice wizard hollered, hurling more ice blades towards Natsu.

'GRAY YOUR CLOTHES!'

Shrieked an exasperated blonde wizard who quickly covered her eyes. Gray glanced down frowning.

'Dammit, Not again.'

Natsu held up a battered chair, deflecting the frozen missiles. At that moment, one of the deflected ice blades ricocheted off the stool, knocking a delicate looking dessert over to the floor. SPLAT, its pink and red frosting surrounded the fallen pudding like a bloody murder scene. Grief and sorrow filled the shocked eyes of the Titania as she whimpered.

'…My poor strawberry cake… '

A dark, crimson aura began radiating throughout the guild; silence flooded the building, Natsu and Gray clutched onto each other, both shaking in fear.

'YOU…YOU BASTARDS KNOCKED OVER MY STRAWBERRY CAKE!'

She took a menacing step towards the two cowering mages, before unleashing the full extent of her power.

'REQUIP! HEAVENS WHEEL!'

A whirlwind of axes, lances, swords and other extensive weaponry pelted down onto Natsu and Gray, who both immediately collapsed, unconscious. After persuading Erza to calm down, the entire guild went back to its normal loud talkative, brawling and drinking state. The blonde, celestial wizard crouched down and examined the two bleeding, unconscious mages and sighed.

'Someone help me take these two to Wendy, again.'

It was just another typical day in the Fairy Tail guild. Mira just shook her head in disbelief at the half destroyed guildhall; sometimes they could really be a handful. Cana finally managed to flop back onto the bar stool, slurring her words.

'Gimme another barrel Mira.'

The ivory haired woman laughed heartily, passing over a barrel full to the brim with strong alcohol.

'Cana, you love it so much, I swear if it were legal, you would marry one of these barrels.'

On hearing this, the drunken mage wobbled slightly, regained balanced then winked at the barrel.

'C'mere beautiful.'

Hesitating for a quick breath, she messily downed the entire cask. Mira sighed; Yep, It really was a very typical day in Fairy Tail.


	2. We're nakama!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Third Person POV** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucy sprinted over to the table, ecstatically waving a crumpled piece of paper.

'Hey guys, check out this awesome request I found, all we have to do is take down a few bandits for 200,000 Jewels! All expenses covered, this one's perfect!'

Natsu flashed a toothy grin before punching his fists together.

'I'm all fired up Luce! Man, these bandits are gonna be a piece of cake!'

At the mention of cake, Erza growled angrily, causing the pink haired mage to violently flinch, she still hadn't quite forgiven them yet.

'I also shall join you on this quest Lucy.'

The Titania replied, still glaring at Natsu.

'Gray?'

Lucy enquired looking over to the unusually quiet, topless wizard.

'You coming?'

Gray dully looked up from his slouched position and spoke flatly.

'Nah sorry, I'm taking this week off to go train near Mt Hakobe'

He shrugged apologetically. Lucy regarded the sombre mage with concern and softened her tone.

'Gray, are you okay? You seem kind of down lately.'

He simply shrugged his shoulders once again and stared at the floor.

'We're your nakama; we're a team Gray. You can tell us anything.'

She smiled encouragingly.

'Thanks, I know you guys want to help, but seriously I can deal with it, I'll be fine by the end of the week.'

Much to the surprise of his fellow teammates, the dismal raven-haired mage got up and trudged out of the guild.

'What's up with ice cube?'

Erza observed both of the confused wizards and sighed.

'Gray is upset because it was this time of year when his master Ur sacrificed her life to the demon Deliora.'

Lucy gasped.

'At Galuna island… I remember! Poor Gray, we should go and comfort him.'

Erza shook her head.

'He prefers isolation, it's his way of dealing with the pain.'

The irritated blonde burst out in frustration.

'How does that help!? Being alone, he always distances himself from us, I mean we could help if he wasn't so stubborn!'

Happy zoomed around her head giggling uncontrollably.

'Aw, Lucy is sooo concerned, she loooooves him.'

'SHUT UP CAT! I'm just worried about Gray.'

'Just leave him be, Lucy, Gray will be normal again once the week is up.'

The fuming celestial mage crossed her arms huffing. Natsu draped his arm around Lucy, playfully tweaking her nose.

'Cheer up Luce; you heard Erza, Popsicle will be fine.'

Still noting the vexed expression on the blonde's face, Natsu hauled Lucy to her feet.

'How about we go back to your place and start packing for that awesome mission!'

Lucy beamed at him; he sure knew how to cheer her up.

'Okay, but no trashing my stuff or raiding my kitchen.'

'Aw c'mon Luce, I'm hungry and we don't always mess up your place.'

'YOU DO IT EVERY DAY!'

Natsu pouted.

'Fine. Happy let's go!'

'AYE SIR!'


	3. Not now Juvia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Gray POV** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I walked towards my apartment, hands shoved in my jeans, the previous conversation replaying itself in my head.

"We're your nakama, we're a team Gray. You can tell us anything."

Urgh, What's the matter with me!? Frustration bubbled inside my torso. They're trying to help me out, why do I always refuse. I'm terrible at all this emotional stuff, Argh this is so annoying!

'GRAY-SAMA!'

Oh God, please not her, not today. I attempt to smile and awkwardly turn to face the expectant water mage.

'Er, Sorry Juvia, I urgently need to train.'

Her expression was beyond ecstatic, she flung herself onto me and I took a step back.

'THEN JUVIA SHALL TRAIN WITH HER BELOVED GRAY SAMA!'

That was the complete opposite of the outcome I wanted. Damn, how am I supposed to get rid of her without hurting her feelings.

'I'm sorry Juvia, but I really want to train alone.'

I hopefully waited for a reaction. The elemental wizard looked heartbroken. Oh no, were those tears in her eyes!? What do I do!? She's crying on me!

'Gray-sama hates Juvia, he's not really going alone, Gray-sama will train with love rival Lucy! HE HATES JUVIA!'

This happened so fast; I'm up to my waist in water! I have to stop her from crying anymore or the entirety Magnolia is going to be submerged! I grabbed both of her flailing arms and yelled over her anguished cries.

'JUVIA LISTEN TO ME, I DON'T HATE YOU. YOU'RE A GREAT PERSON AND I DON'T LOVE LUCY. I AM GOING TO TRAIN BY MYSELF, NO ONE ELSE. GOT IT?'

I watched in relief as the torrents of water thankfully subdued and retreated. Juvia was breathing heavily and sniffling between her words.

'Juvia is sorry...for doubting her…beloved Gray-sama…Juvia will…go home now.'

I mentally fist bumped myself for that victory, now I can finally go and train.

'Okay Juvia, thanks for understanding.'

She gave me a watery smile before skipping in the opposite direction. I shook my head in bewilderment, she was enthusiastic, then heartbroken and now she's happy again?

'I'll never understand girls.'

When I reached apartment, I felt numb inside. The memories of Ur came flooding back, when she scolded Lyon for his cockiness, how every night she would tell us ancient legends and when she taught me my first ever ice shield. Amongst all my nostalgia, there was also _that_ memory, the day she sacrificed her life, for me. I felt warm tears building up in my eyes so I squeezed them shut, not letting a single one fall.

'Gray Fullbuster doesn't cry.'

I growled to myself. I felt empty; my chest felt hollow and painfully tight. Whenever it's near the anniversary of her death, the memories and the nightmares come back to haunt me, especially the nightmares. I clenched my fists in aggravation; I will not let my emotions get the better of me. I took a deep breath and began to pack my rucksack for a week in Mt Hakobe. I didn't pack much, just the bare essentials; boxers, trousers, shirt (Just one because I'd probably end up loosing it.), a jacket, toothbrush, some bandages, water bottle and some jewels. Fully packed, I locked up my apartment and took a taxi that dropped me off near Mt Hakobe. I looked up at the vast snow coated mountain range.

'Ice make pick-axe!'

Grasping the smooth tool firmly, I plunged it into the frozen rock and began my exhausting ascent to the top


	4. I can't die like this

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **Third Person POV** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Springtime, It was at this time of year when Mt Hakobe was a major tourist attraction; people from all over Fiore would come just to catch a glimpse of the magnificent aurora that would be visible on top of the mountain for only three days. Not wanting to be anywhere near the jostling horde of eager visitors, Gray decided to spend his week of self-contemplation and intense training on the neighbouring peak, Mt Iwa.

Not many travellers venture near Mt Iwa for many reasons; it could be because of the severe blizzards or the extremely hostile creatures, however the main reason people avoided the summit was because there was a cryptic, magical presence emitting from the west side of the mountain. Gray was fully aware of the hazard that the mountain held. Good, he thought, at least the danger would be a temporary distraction from the memories. The villagers at the foot of the pinnacle believed that the powerful magical ambience on the west side of the mountain was part of a cursed angel's soul, one villager claimed that he saw it flying near the forest. Gray refused to believe in the local superstition however he could feel the strong presence. Drops of perspiration slid off his forehead as he gradually scaled the broad mountain, grunting slightly when the jagged rocks viciously torn his pale skin. The weary ice mage hauled his lacerated body onto a flat clearing high up on the mountain, and observed his surroundings; Fir trees were scattered all around, a cold blanket of glistening snow covered the ground as well as a narrow winding river that cut through it, other than that the terrain seemed quite desolate. A brief swish of glimmering silver flashed behind Gray, he managed to glimpse it in the corner of his eye, but when he swiftly turned around there was nothing there. Shrugging it off, he assumed the reduced air pressure was just messing with his head. He grasped the rucksack strap and tugged it off his bare shoulders. Wait, bare shoulders? A brisk glance down confirmed his suspicions. He was topless.

'Baka, that was your only shirt. Stupid habit, thanks a lot Ur, you-'

He snapped crossly and then hesitated, his azure blue eyes widened, realising what he had said.

'Master…I didn't mean it. I'm sorry.'

He whispered quietly, unconsciously fiddling with his silver necklace. The coniferous trees seemed to circle, loom over him, he felt so trapped and small, like a kid again. The memory was back. He could remember her protectively standing in front of him, facing Deliora; he could remember her casting iced shell, he could remember her body dissipating into ice. No matter how many times his nakama had said 'it wasn't your fault', no matter how hard they tried to comfort him, Gray knew Ur died because of him. Her last words echoed repeatedly in his head.

"I've freed you from the darkness Gray..." He sank to his knees, words tumbling out in shaky gasps.

'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.'

A single tear escaped his left eye; it slid down his cheek dropping onto the crisp snow beneath. All of his anger, guilt and his sorrow churned and bubbled within his core, all of these mixed emotions savagely clawed at his chest, desperately seeking freedom. Gray couldn't take it anymore; he hunched over, clutching his head with his calloused hands and screamed into the dreary sky. A few minutes later he slowly calmed down, taking deep breaths to steady his hitched breathing. Feeling small sharp pains in his hand, he examined it; a cross-shaped intent was set in his palm, a thin line of blood trickled down from it. He hadn't realised how hard he was gripping the silver pendant.

'Why am I so pathetic?'

The air around him changed, snow fell, harsher, thicker, the wind picked up a pace, spinning rapidly, kicking up snow and mist that blurred his vision. Gray sat up and squinted, he had to find a shelter and fast. A high-pitched howl broke through the whistling wind. He quickly looked back into the centre of the gyrating ice tempest. Towering creatures emerged from the heart of the storm; they were giant leathery winged lizards, completely covered in translucent scales as well as serrated barbs running down each wing. Gray narrowed his eyes.

'Blizzard Wyverns.'

The hideous beasts trained their amber irises on him, grinding their keen fangs together menacingly whilst they constantly prowled in his direction. Gray knew by the hungry glint in their eyes that they were poised to strike soon; he could either run or take them down, fast. Weighing down his narrow options, the raven-haired wizard chose to fight. Planting both of his feet firmly shoulder width apart, he held his left hand aloft, fingers splayed whilst his right on top, balled into a fist.

'Ice make geyser!'

A cluster of acute ice shards erupted from beneath the snow, accurately puncturing the soft underside of their necks. He watched the skewered monsters dematerialize into a shower of fresh snow. Thank God, they were dead. His long sigh of relief was interrupted by shrill screeches. How many were there!? The ice mage squinted through the endless torrents of sleet, attempting to locate the other wyverns through the thick snowstorm. The swarm of hail ruthlessly gnawed every inch of his bare skin, numbing his senses. Gray jolted when he heard the strident shriek again, only this time it was very close, too close. He only had time to register the monsters' pellucid limb before it crashed into his abdomen. Knocking him clean off his feet, winded. Lying flat on his back, dazed, he looked upwards through the shrouded mist and to his horror saw more and more wyverns advancing, imprisoning him. They pinned him down to the ground, flattening his legs with their hefty tails.

'Ice make lan-Aahhh!'

A nasty cracking sound filled the air as a wyvern vigorously slammed its talons down, crushing his left hand. Gray gasped in agony, pain seared excruciatingly throughout his wrist and fingers, he couldn't move his hand. Gritting his teeth and holding only his right fist up, he concentrated all of his magical energy to it.

'Ice make lance!'

Six, thin arrow-like spears jutted out from his raised palm, four of them hit the nearest wyvern, however inflicting minimal damage. The rest feebly shattered on contact with their scales. Deep down Gray knew that his spell wouldn't have worked, Ur had always told him how one-handed maker magic creations would fail when you needed them most. Well it was worth a try.

'This can't be it, I can't die like this.'

He murmured looking up at the snarling beasts. The largest wyvern near his head bared its pointed teeth, almost like a sly grin. Milky saliva dripped from its wide-open jaws, the other creatures slowly backed away. This one had to be the pack leader. Gray could see its golden eyes glowing hungrily in the icy tempest. He could see its neck vein twitch; he knew it was ready to kill. Gray closed his eyes when it lunged at his neck…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gray POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pointed fangs of the beast grazed my neck but then it stopped. I heard the surrounding monsters yelp in panic, panic? I snapped my eyes open and was shocked. The pack leader's severed head lay by my side, its still, glassy orbs were wide in surprise. I saw the rest of its body above me, halfway up its neck was a bleeding stump. The limp parts of the detached wyvern shuddered, a white mist encircled both bits of its body and it dispersed completely into a flurry of snowflakes. It was dead. I lifted my head off the ground and saw a graveyard; decapitated monsters were strewn all over the ice, small ruptures of snow confirmed more deaths and hacked wyvern chunks rained down from the sky. That's when I saw it, a giant eagle-like bird, swooping down on the fearful wyverns, effortlessly slicing through their brawny bodies with its agile wings. Within five minutes, half of the wyverns were annihilated, the rest that survived squawked in terror and scarpered. I was too stunned to move. It soared downwards and landed near by my side. Silver and white feathers adorned its entire body; a fierce magical energy was pulsating from it. It turned its head towards me, fixing its keen eyes onto mine. I notice that its irises were almost brown except for the multiple silver streaks entwined inside it. I don't know what to do, should I trust it? Does it even understand me? It did save my life, but did it mean to? This creature is extremely powerful and dangerous, but it hasn't killed me, yet. It placed it's left talons around my waist. That was the sign I needed, I attempted to roll over, away from it since my legs were still paralysed from the force of the wyvern tail however my attempt was cut short as the silver bird carefully planted it's right talons on the other side of my waist, holding me in place. It peered intently at me; it's grip and expression softened as it saw me struggling. A small surge of hope tugged at my chest, maybe it did understand. If it understands me, it could help me, maybe it is helping me after all. I ceased my struggles, allowing it to scoop me up in its firm claws. It gave one final cautious glance at me. I nodded. It crouched down, spread its gleaming wings and leapt into the darkening sky. A powerful rush of air whisked past me, cool wind raked through my hair and the distant, snow covered ground glistened far below. I contently closed my eyes whilst the feeling of flight filled my senses, this feeling; it was the definition of freedom. The winged creature let out a sharp caw and wheeled towards the left side of the mountain. I noticed that the storm had subsided on this part of the peak. There was a waterfall flowing from it, there were more trees with lusher vegetation and I could actually hear other animals chattering within the pine forests. As we neared the rocky summit, I spotted a hollowed out section in the mountain, I guessed that's where we were heading. Sure enough that's where we landed. The bird gently set me down on the ground, which was surprisingly soft; the entire floor was made up of feathers, dry leaves, pine needles and snow, it was assembled like a nest. My limbs painfully ached and I knew that my hand was definitely broken badly, in several places at least. I yawned wearily and lay down. The bird shuffled next to me, it unfurled one of its immaculate wings and protectively draped it over me, like a blanket. Its wing was silky and warm. Although I didn't feel the cold, it was comforting in a way; I didn't feel alone.


End file.
